Cardio for the Summer

With the summer season on the horizon everyone is thinking about losing weight to cut down and look lean throughout the summer. Often than not this means cutting down on calories and the dreaded additional cardio in your programme. For many this will mean early morning cardio followed by a late, depleted on calories weight session never quite reaching the level you were at throughout the winter months. Here are a few tips of mine to avoid this and help you achieve those summer goals. 

1) Yes reduce your calories but this doesn't have to be dramatically less. A small change of 400 calories a day doesn't seems a lot but over a week is 2,800 calories which is a day's worth of calories for most. So bear this is mind, aim for between 300-500, increasing or decreasing depending on what you're seeing in the mirror!!!

2) Carb cycle!! Everyone believes when cutting weight carbs must be totally taken out of their diet, this isn't true. If you want to still train at the optimum level your body needs carbs. Try and eat the majority before and post workout. Secondly cycle high carb days with a lower carb days. Try it and see what works for you. I like high carb days on legs and back but some like to stick to more of a 3 day low one day high routine. Whichever works best for you. 

3) Do your cardio post workout!! Many of us don't have time to fit two workouts in a day, plus LISS training can get so boring. Instead I like to do my cardio at the end using high intensity interval training. This often is a finisher to my workout. Back days for example I do 5 rounds of:

200m row 

5 pulls ups

10 power cleans.

This is short sharp and to the point. I max my heart rate out, finish off muscles I've trained in the session and by increasing my metabolism I burn fat for hours post workout. Others include: 

10 rounds of: 5 burpees, 10 press ups and 15 kettle bell swings. 

10 rounds of: 10 jump squats, 10 jumping lunges and 10 box jumps.

These all help push the muscle group beyond the point of failure but managing to get my cardio in at the same time. It's very easy and I'm sure you could make up your own. 

4) Lastly increase the intensity of your workout!!!!! This is no doubt the most simple yet effective change of all. This could be through adding more volume by additional exercises, increase in sets, add in supersets or hitting a higher rep range. You could bring the rest time between sets down thus meaning your heart rate stays higher throughout. Or add in a few burpees, a row or some cardio based movement at the end of each exercise or set. The aim is just to keep intensity high, causing your heart rate to remain higher and the fat burning rate to become higher. 

So there you have it a few easy tips on track to becoming lean for summer. The main aim is just keep intensity high and focus more on what you're eating and you'll hit the goals.

Jack